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The "Chiropractor" used to be the nickname given to Samoa's crash-tackling Brian Lima because of his unerring ability to rattle opponents' bones. Stuart Lancaster is a gentler character but he has given the spine of his England team an almighty wrench. It is hard to remember any England coach who has simultaneously handed first Six Nations starts to his main lineout caller, both half-backs and a 20-year-old centre. Stick or twist? Lancaster has plumped for the kill-or-cure option.

In the case of the injured Charlie Hodgson there was, in the end, no option. The management did wait until early morning to make absolutely sure but once Hodgson's breakfast-time fitness test ended in disappointment Lancaster did not flinch. While Owen Farrell may be only 20, he has spent longer on the training field lately than the more seasoned Toby Flood. Any temptation to reunite Flood with Lee Dickson, once a team-mate at Newcastle, was trumped by a desire to stay true to the "no fear" philosophy Lancaster has consistently preached since taking the caretaker reins.

No fear. It sounds simple enough. Don't worry about making a prat of yourself in front of 80,000 people, just go out and play. The truth is that Geoff Parling, England's new king of the lineout jungle, and the equally unheralded No8 Ben Morgan are about to leap off a board high enough to make even Tom Daley think twice. The 23-year-old Morgan has played twice at Twickenham for Gloucestershire Under-20s; Dickson has played a schoolboy final and a bit of pre-season sevens at HQ. Add a rookie fly-half and yet another new centre pairing and it is fair to say England are venturing into unknown territory. Lancaster reckons England's starting XV has 182 caps compared to Wales's 488, enough of a gap to make home advantage a relative concept.

Before Wales get too excited, though, there is a gleam in the eyes of Parling, Morgan, Dickson, Farrell and Manu Tuilagi which may just concern Warren Gatland. This time last year no one was talking about Rhys Priestland as a potential Lions fly-half, nor wondering aloud how to stop George North. Hodgson's injury has undoubtedly tipped the scales in terms of experience but the self-belief generated by England's on-the-road wins against Scotland and Italy is not insignificant. "We're such a together team," said Dickson.

"We've only been together five weeks but it feels like a lifetime because of the cohesion we've got." Perhaps he would say that but, as Lancaster points out, underdogs are not necessarily toothless poodles. "The strength of self-belief in a team can carry you a long way. We've tried to give this team as much of that as possible."

In the case of Farrell, this armour-plating seems to have formed in his cradle. "Owen's already won a Premiership final playing at 10," said Dickson. "He's very mature and a class act." The combative Northampton scrum-half is also totally unfazed by the prospect of tangling with the powerful Mike Phillips, taking the view that any No9 who fails to snap at the heels of their opponent, regardless of size or pedigree, is not doing their job properly. "I'm going to go out there and be myself. I don't want to stop playing for England, I want to be here for a long time."

The same up-and-at-'em spirit also oozes from both Parling and Morgan, who has been receiving cheerful "Hope you lose" messages from his Welsh friends and will be roared on by a minibus full of supporters who have known him since his playing days with Dursley in Gloucestershire. Parling has waited even longer than the 26-year-old Dickson for his chance and was so thrilled when given the news that he omitted to tell his wife for 48 hours. "I got a bit of stick off her," admitted the Teeside-born lock, now widely recognised as one of the country's smarter lineout operators since his switch from Newcastle to Leicester. "I'm really excited about it but I don't want to get too happy. It's just the start. If we go out and lose I don't want to look back at that. I'd prefer to get to the end of my career and think: 'My first start was at Twickenham against a good Wales team and we got a good solid win before going on to win the Six Nations.'" Unfamiliar spine or not, England will not lack for backbone.